In many cutting, spraying and welding operations, plasma arc torches are utilized. With these torches a plasma gas jet is emitted into the ambient atmosphere at a high temperature. The jets are emitted from a nozzle and as they leave the nozzle the jets are highly under-expanded and very focused. However, because of the high current loads and temperatures associated with the ionized plasma jet many of the components of the torch are susceptible to failure. This failure can significantly interfere with the operation of the torch and prevent proper arc ignition at the start of a cutting operation. Because of this tendency many cutting operations are limited, for example in the thickness of the material that they can cut. This thickness limitation is often dictated by the maximum piercing capability of the torch at the maximum amperage rating. For example, an 80 amp rated torch can only cut a mild steel having a thickness of ¾ of inch or less, because that is the maximum thickness that can be effectively pierced at the 80 amp rating. Thus, these limitations require higher capability torches (e.g., higher current load) to cut thicker materials. This can be disadvantageous as a user may need to have many different torches or have to buy more expensive torches to cut thicknesses only slightly thicker than the maximum rated thicknesses for the current inventory of torches.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.